Work

Dietary chlorogenic acid is associated with improved breast meat quality and altered postmortem energy-metabolism indicators in high-density broilers

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: High stocking density (HD) can impair broiler breast meat quality, but the associated postmortem biochemical changes and the potential value of dietary chlorogenic acid (CGA) remain incompletely defined. This study examined 612 male Arbor Acres broilers assigned to normal density (ND; 14 birds/m 2 ), HD (22 birds/m 2 ), or HD diets supplemented with 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 g/kg CGA. Compared with ND, HD reduced breast muscle yield and was associated with a faster postmortem pH decline, greater water loss, and higher shear force ( P < 0.05). HD also coincided with higher oxidative-stress indices, lower ATP content, a more pronounced glycolysis-related endpoint profile, and lower values for several TCA-cycle-related metabolites and enzyme activities. Among the HD-based groups, CGA supplementation, particularly at 1.0 g/kg, was associated with improved water-holding capacity and tenderness and with favorable changes in selected oxidative-stress, ATP, glycolysis-related, and TCA-related endpoints ( P < 0.05). Exploratory correlations described statistical associations among measured meat-quality and biochemical variables. Because mitochondrial function and real-time metabolic flux were not directly measured, these relationships should be interpreted as associative and hypothesis-generating.

Source: Journal of Agriculture and Food Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.jafr.2026.103222